Cairo is one of the world's largest cities with over 20,000,000 residents. There are a lot of contrasts. While driving down a street, one might pass a donkey cart and pedestrians crossing between moving cars. Hopefully you are not the driver, because on a road with 3 marked lanes all one direction, one might find two cars each straddling a lane marker when traffic is light or 4 cars side by side when the traffic is heavy.

While in Cairo, we visited the Egyptian Museum, the pyramids and the Sphinx.

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²²Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. ²³When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) ²⁴ So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What are we to drink?"

²⁵ Then Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. (NIV, Exodus 15:22 - 25a)

²⁷ Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water. (NIV, Exodus 15:27)

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The desert hills in Jordan like those we saw on the way to Petra can be quite beautiful. We have some observations about Jordan that don't fit with any of the sites discussed below.

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Petra is an ancient area that was rediscovered and excavated in the last 200 years. The Treasury got its name because people believed it contained a treasure. Instead it was just a grand tomb carved out of sandstone.

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In Biblical times, Madaba was known has Medeba and is mentioned in Joshua 13:9 when Joshua was assigning territory to the 2 and 1/2 tribes that settled east of the Jordan.

The St. George Church is known for a large mosaic map showing biblical sites known in the Byzantine period (5th century). This pictorial map is the oldest known map of the Holy Land still in existence. The present church was built over the rediscovered map mosaic in the late 19th centrury. But it also has some great pictures like the one shown here.

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From Mt Nebo Moses looked out at the Promised Land and died there. (Deuteronomy 32:48-52, 34:1-5) Hopefully the visibility was better than when we there.

Today the Catholic church is rebuilding an old church at that sight. Apparently the roof or walls were in bad shape but we were told the Mosaic in the floor has been preserved.

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We have some comments about Israel that don't fit with any of the sites discussed below.

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The first night was in Tel Aviv and we flew out of Tel Aviv at the end of the tour. We got to see the Mediterranean Sea while we were there but otherwise it was just a good place to spend the night.

We traveled north to Caesarea which was the location of Herod's primary home and a center of Roman life. It also is noted for being the home of the centurion baptized by Peter (Acts 10:9-48) after his vision about unclean foods. Paul landed in Caesaria after his 2nd and 3rd missionary journeys (Acts 18:22, 21:8). His 4th trip began as he was taken to Caesarea to be tried by Felix and Agrippa before being sent to Rome as a prisoner (Acts 23:23 - 27:2).

We saw the remains of the theater, the hippodrome, Herod's palace, the aqueduct and other places. There were also ruins from the Moslem and Crusader periods.

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Mt. Carmel was the place where Elijah defeated the priests of Bail (I Kings 18:16-46). There is now a church at this location.

The view from the mountain includes an Israeli air base.

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Excavations have found 26 layers representing many different civilizations. It is one of the most excavated sites in Israel. I Kings 9:15 mentions it as part of the construction program that includes the temple in Jerusalem. Because of its strategic location, it was the site of many battles over the centuries from 14th century B.C to World War I. It also suffered from many earthquakes.

Remains have been found of stables, palaces, temples, and a water system. The water system includes a reservoir that can be reached by staircase in a shaft about 120 feet deep and then by a horizontal tunnel about 230 feet long. The shaft was inside the walls of the city so water could be obtained even when the area was under siege.

The area is sometimes known as Armageddon which may best be remembered for its role in Revelations 16:16 and 17:8-18 where it is the site of a battle where the Lamb defeats the antichrist.

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Nazareth Village

Nazareth Village is a combination of excavations and recreations that attempts to show the lifestyle of the people at Jesus time. The picture shows a wine press. They stomped the grapes with their feet in the upper depression in the top right and the juice would run into the middle reservoir and then into the lowest reservoir. The middle reservoir acted like a filter or settling basin. They used their feet in the upper depression to avoid breaking the seeds.

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We didn't stop at Kfar Kana but it is believed to be Cana of Galilee where Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding (John 2:1-12).

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North of the Sea of Galilee near the borders with Lebanon and Syria, the Jordan River splits into three parts. We traveled to two of them. Major springs supply water to both of them. The first was Dan.

Unfortunately, at Dan the northern kingdom set up an altar to idols. In Judges 17 and 18 we read that Micah set up an idol in northern Israel and the tribe of Dan moved there. After Solomon's death, the northern kingdom lead by Jeroboam, rebelled against Solomon's son Rehoboam. In I Kings 12:25 - 32, we read that Jeroboam set up golden calves at Bethel and Dan so his people would not go to Jerusalem to worship.

The area is part of the Tel Dan Nature Reserve. The picture shows the tributary of the Jordan at Dan.

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Today the stream from the second of the three headwaters of the Jordan is called Hermon Stream and the area is called Banias. In Jesus day it was called Caesarea Philippi. It is where Peter declared, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." (NIV, Math. 16:16) In response Jesus said "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church." (NIV, Math. 16:18)

The town was originally founded by the Greeks worshiping "Pan", the Greek God with goat body and human head. Later it became a Roman town. Arab cultures didn't have a "p" in their alphabet so they used a "b" instead. Thus the name "Banias" instead of "Panias".

At Jesus' time, water came from a cave. However an earthquake moved the source of the spring. You can see that there is still lots of water coming from the current spring.

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Some people in our group were baptized in the Jordan river in a site near the Sea of Galilee. Many believe that this is the site where John the Baptist baptized Jesus. (Mathew 3: 13-17, Mark 1: 9-11, Luke 3:21-22)

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After leaving Beit Shean, we continued traveling south to the Dead Sea and spent a night there. Actually we spent the night near the evaporation pools where minerals are recovered from the sea. While we were there we spent time at three sites on the west side of the sea.

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Masada was a desert fortress on top of a mountain built by Herod the Great. It is a boat shaped plateau at about sea level high above the Dead Sea. It is isolated from the surrounding mountain range. Herod created a palace for himself, store house and a water system that collected and stored water from other mountains. When the Jews revolted and the Romans destroyed the temple, some Zealots moved to this fortress. To conquer it, the Romans built a ramp up to the top on the west side. But when it was completed they discovered the Zealots had committed suicide to avoid being taken by the Romans.

Because it is impossible to really get the full impression of Masada except from the air, we borrowed this picture from this source and added the note about Herod's palace.

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In the mist of a desert with less about 1/4 of rain per year, En Gedi is an oasis that enjoys plant life, has a spring, and is great for growing plants that need a hot climate. It is on the west shore of the Dead Sea about 10 miles north of Masada.

Where does the water come from? It comes underground from the places like Jerusalem which is something like 30 miles away that has more rain. The rain soaks into the ground, but it is forced to stay above the solid Basalt rock below the ground. Thus it becomes an underground river flowing to En Gedi.

In I Samuel 23:29 - 24:22, we read how David fled to the caves of En Gedi to hide from Saul. At one point Saul went into a cave to relieve himself. It was the same cave in which David was hiding. David cut off a piece of Saul's robe but did not harm him.

En Gedi is also mentioned in Joshua 15:62, 2 Chronicles 20:2, Song of Songs 1:14 and Ezekiel 27:10.

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In 1947 Bedouins shepherds discovered some ancient scrolls in a cave near the north end of the Dead Sea. Additional scrolls have been found since then. It turned out they were copies of the Old Testament, Apocrypha copied by the Essenes. The Essences were ascetics that paid attention to ritual bathing, purity, and communal living. They lived at this site from the 2nd century before Christ to 68 A.D. when they were conquered by the Roman army. Their primary task was copying scriptures and their own books which were put in jars and hidden in caves. The weather at the site helped preserve the books for 2 centuries. Scrolls discovered there have been moved to either the Vatican or the Israel Museum. The picture shows a copy that is on display in the Qumran National Park.

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One of the highlights of the tour was a stop at Abraham's tent where father Abraham welcomed us to a camel ride and an "authentic" meal. Strangely Abraham had an English accent and the meal included chicken instead of a native bird. However, the meal was excellent and Father Abraham shared the recipe for the outstanding chicken which included hysop, garlic, sea salt and date honey.

In the picture, father Abraham welcomes us to his tent and meal. Most of us sat on mats as was done in Bible times. Father Abraham kindly provided chairs for those who needed them.

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Bethlehem is about 8 miles south of Jerusalem. In the Old Testament, Bethlehem was the hometown of Ruth's mother-in-law (Ruth 1:1) and of David (1 Samuel 16:1). In Micah 5:2, we read that the Messiah will come from this city. This prophecy came true when it was the birthplace of Jesus. (Matthew 2 and Luke 2).

The picture shows part of the santuary in the Greek Orthodox part of the Church of the Nativity. They had lots of hanging candles and insense pots like those shown.

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